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Thomas Meursault
Thomas Meursault was born on April 1st, 1935 in Eastview (later Vanier), a densely populated working class Ottawa neighborhood with a large francophone community. The eldest of four children, his father was Michel Meursault, an entrepreneur and owner of a local department store. After attending École secondaire publique De La Salle, he was accepted to the University of Ottawa, where he studied political science. It was here he met Caroline Desjardins, who was studying sociology. The couple soon married and has since produced two sons, Eric and Jean-Paul, and one daughter, Nancy. Meursault obtained BA and MA degrees in 1957 and 1959, respectively, and following the conclusion of his education, settled down in Sandy Hill where he worked as a newspaper columnist for Le Droit and the Ottawa Citizen. A longtime member of the Liberal Party, Meursault became involved in provincial politics in the 1963 provincial election, running unsuccessfully in Russell against Progressive Conservative candidate Albert Lawrence. He ran again in the 1967 election, this time in the Ottawa East riding. Again, the Tory nominee defeated him. He contested the same riding in 1971, this time winning by a narrow margin. It was one of the few significant gains for the Liberals, as the party finished a distant second in the legislature against William Davis’ dominant Progressive Conservatives. Meursault was re-elected with an increased majority in the 1975 election, in which the Progressive Conservatives were finally brought down to a minority government. Liberal leader Robert Nixon resigned soon afterward. Meursault supported the left-wing candidate, Stuart Smith, to replace him over the right-wing choice, David Peterson. Smith was the ultimate successor and in 1977 led the Ontario Liberals to Official Opposition, replacing the New Democratic Party. The Liberals did not fare well in the 1981 election, however, and Smith resigned with Peterson this time getting the nod. Considering Peterson to be an ineffective leader, Meursault resigned to run in the 1984 federal election. He contested Ottawa-Vanier for the federal Liberals, winning easily in a safe seat for the Grits. Nationally, it was a landslide victory for Brian Mulroney and his Progressive Conservatives, who won 211 out of 282 seats. Meursault became one of the few but vocal Liberal MPs who regularly took the Mulroney government to task, trafficking with members of the so-called “Rat Pack”, although he was not as radical as its more high-profile members, such as Sheila Copps and Don Boudria. Meursault was an ardent defender of official bilingualism and a promoter of greater rights for Franco-Ontarians. He opposed the Meech Lake Accord as he believed it was detrimental to Canadian federalism, leading to accusations of being a “sell-out” by some French-Canadians. He did, however, endorse the Charlottetown Accord, albeit with some reservations. Meursault has called Pierre Trudeau “a great Canadian and my personal role model”. Socially, he is very progressive, endorsing an independent Canada with a focus on human rights and the promotion of individual freedoms as well as protecting linguistic and cultural minorities. He believes passionately in bilingualism but has been a sharp critic of the Quebec sovereignty movement, saying that Quebec is a distinct region with a unique culture, but is no more unique than the other regions and cultures of the country. Economically, he has called for controlled government spending while at the same time preserving essential social services.